Leave medical choices to us, without political interference

In democratic republics like ours, we rely on a broad array of guardrails, be they legislative, judicial, constitutional, moral, ethical or social in nature, to prevent political demagogues from seizing and imposing intrusive power over the lives of their constituents.

But in recent years, we have increasingly come to elect people whose penchant for power or acclaim leads them to trample such barriers. This has been occurring at all levels, the most egregious and enduring local example being the troika currently holding court as members of the Yamhill County Board of Commissioners.

The latest instance of opportunistic overreach on their part once again targets the professionally apolitical county Department of Health & Human Services. That’s because it holds sway over vaccine programs, which rank high in the commissioners’ hierarchy of public enemies.

It seems the county’s chief public health operative, doctoral degree holder Lindsey Manfrin, has offended sensibilities by acknowledging, “we generally recommend most people 6 months old and older get an annual flu shot,” though advising it’s best to first “check with your provider to talk about the risks and benefits” in order to decide “if it’s right for you.”

Commissioner Mary Starrett offered the bluntest and most problematic justification: Manfrin refuses to endorse her personal reservations about vaccine safety and efficacy, so to balance the scales, should be barred from making any favorable mentions, no matter how nuanced, qualified or scientifically supported.

Just “name, rank and serial number,” Starrett says. Hold it to “these vaccines are available,” she says.

The fact is, immunization against infectious disease has been credited with: Preventing millions of deaths every year, including those of at least 1.5 million children. Eradicating smallpox after it had cut short 300 to 500 million lives during the 20th century alone. Undergoing advances leading the list of the 10 greatest public health achievements of that century.

Immunization has served to virtually eliminate the scourge of polio in the U.S. and other developed nations; sharply reduced the potentially devastating health risks posed by measles, mumps, tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough; and helped curb a pandemic that could otherwise have rivaled the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-19, which infected an estimated 500 million, 50 million of them fatally.

Are there risks associated with immunizations? There are risks associated with every substance you introduce into your body, from peanuts to aspirin. Sadly, some people have even proven allergic to penicillin — the wonder drug of the 20th century when it comes to fighting infection, rivaling immunization as a mass saver of lives.

However, no vaccine is introduced to the market without first undergoing multiple rounds of rigorous testing, capped by three-phase human trials. And the monitoring continues in the field, so if the risks begin to rival the rewards, it can be pulled.

The stable of vaccines being offered by the county health department today has been administered to hundreds of millions of people in every part of the planet. It long ago proved its safety and efficacy under the most rigorous analysis modern science could muster.

Our three county commissioners hold no credentials and boast no experience giving them any credible basis to judge. If it weren’t for wholly unwarranted hubris, they would defer to the highly credentialed and experienced public health officer in their own employ.

Their attempt to muzzle her betrays not only an appalling lack of faith in her, but an appalling lack of faith in the constituents they serve. If three random residents of no particular medical acumen are capable of coming to such firm conclusions on their own, why aren’t the rest of us?

Maybe the commissioners ought to let us sift through whatever reputable medical information the department can assemble. So armed, we could then consult with our providers in order to decide for ourselves, without the heavy hand of government trying to put its thumb on the scales.